Federal Government To Pitch In $50M To Help Provinces With Asylum Seeker Costs

Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba will be getting the money.

Canadian Press

Justin Tang/Canadian Press

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen speaks to reporters, as Chief Government Whip Pablo Rodiguez, right, looks on, following Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday.

OTTAWA — The federal government will provide $50 million to Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba to help pay for some of the costs they have borne as a result of the influx of asylum seekers illegally crossing the Canada-U.S. border.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says this is not a final payment to these provinces for border crosser costs, but is meant to help address some of the immediate temporary housing needs in those provinces.

"The continued influx of asylum seekers entering Canada between ports of entry has increased pressure on provinces to provide shelter and social services to a growing number of asylum seekers," Hussen said in Ottawa on Friday.

"We appreciate the pressures Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba are facing and will continue discussions with provinces towards longer-term solutions including further financial support."

Christinne Muschi / Reuters
A group of asylum seekers pass a Canadian army vehicle as they walk down the street while escorted from their tent encampment to be processed at Canada Border Services in Lacolle, Que. on Aug. 11, 2017.

Quebec, which has seen the majority of asylum seekers this year arriving through a forest path in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, will receive $36 million. Ontario will get $11 million and Manitoba $3 million.

The provinces have asked for much more, with Quebec saying its costs are closer to $146 million, although this includes projected future costs, Quebec Immigration Minister David Heurtel said earlier this week following meetings in Ottawa.

He responded to the financial announcement Friday on Twitter, saying this marks the first concrete recognition from Ottawa of the considerable impact on Quebec since last year caused by the "massive arrival of irregular asylum seekers."

Toronto Mayor John Tory said last week his city is also dealing with strains on housing and needs $64 million to recover costs.

Hussen says negotiations on further financial compensation with the three provinces are ongoing.

Christinne Muschi / Reuters
A group of asylum seekers wait to be processed after being escorted from their tent encampment to the Canada Border Services in Lacolle, Que. on Aug. 11, 2017.

Talks also continue on a plan to "triage" asylum seekers in an effort to move some migrants out of Montreal and Toronto to areas with more available housing and job opportunities.

Last week, the ad hoc intergovernmental task force on irregular migration met to discuss the progress of this plan, but Transport Minister Marc Garneau said nothing can be finalized until the provincial election in Ontario is over.

A reception centre is being set up in Cornwall, Ont., as an alternate location where the federal government can deal with refugee claimants. Now, all federal resources and claims processing centres for irregular migrants are centred in Montreal.

Hussen will soon travel to the United States for high-level talks with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to discuss ideas he has to help modernize the safe third country agreement. They include possibly introducing the use of biometrics to allow border officials to better track the movements of individuals to determine if they are eligible to make a refugee claim in Canada.

Christinne Muschi / Reuters
Members of the Canadian Armed Forces carry wooden flooring into the tents they erected to house asylum seekers at the Canada-United States border in Lacolle, Que. on Aug. 9, 2017.

But Conservative Immigration critic Michelle Rempel says this would do nothing to address the problem unless Canada and the U.S. agree to close a loophole that exists in the agreement that allows asylum seekers to claim refugee status in Canada if they somehow make it into the country through non-official entry points.

"The safe third county agreement still doesn't apply at an illegal crossing, so he can biometric all he wants, the agreement still isn't going to apply unless he broaches the issue of renegotiating it."

More than 9,000 refugee claimants have crossed into Canada through unofficial paths along the border so far this year, with 90 per cent of them arriving in Quebec.